[Avodah] Announcing Geshem

[Akiva Miller]

.
I have long been bothered by why we cannot start or stop Mashiv Haruach
Umorid Hagashem/geshem without a formal announcement , yet no announcements
at all are required for starting and stopping any of the other changes to
our tefilos.

This past spring, in Avodah 38:24, I quoted a teshuva from Rav Hershel
Schachter, where he tackled this question. (It is titled "Piskei Corona #9:
Hallel on Pesach Night and Tefillas Tal". "Our Rav" refers to Rav JB
Soloveitchik z"l; the parentheses are Rav Schachter's.)

> There is a big difference between She'eila (V'sen Tal Umatar
> Livracha) and Hazkara (Mashiv Haruach). See what I wrote in
> the name of our Rav in MiPeninei HaRav (section Tefila, number
> 5), that changing the descriptions of Hashem (from Mashiv
> Haruach to Morid Hatal) requires Reshus Hatzibur, and an
> individual is not allowed to make changes on his own.

But I still don't understand what makes Mashiv Haruach so unusual.
According to Rav Schachter's logic, shouldn't we also need Reshus Hatzibur
to change the description of Hashem between HaKeil HaKadosh and HaMelech
HaKadosh?

Moreover, why is this Reshus Hatzibur required *every* *single* *time* that
we start or stop Mashiv Haruach? Why isn't it sufficient that Chazal
ordained that we start it every year on Shmini Atzeres, and stop it every
year on Pesach?

I once questioned how our Yom Tovim have any d'Oraisa status at all: If
there's no Beis Din to declare that a certain day was Rosh Chodesh Tishrei,
then where does Yom Kippur's status come from? The answer I got (Eliyahu
Kitov, The Book of Our Heritage, v 1 pg 230) was that Hillel's beis din was
mekadesh in *advance* all future Roshei Chadashim that would be calculated
according to his rules. According to this reasoning, the required Reshus
Hatzibur doesn't have to come from the gabbai or the chazan. It comes from
Chazal, who ordained this schedule of changes to the Amidah, so when the
calendar says to make a change, my requirement to do so comes
automatically, whether I'm in shul or not, just like for all the other
changes.

Akiva Miller
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